Google New Launcher Available For Nexus Smartphones With Android 7.0 Nougat

According to a report that was published yesterday, Google is preparing a launcher for the upcoming Nexus smartphones that will be used to showcase the Android 7.0 Nougat. These smartphones are rumored to be named Marlin and Sailfish and that they are manufactured by HTC.

The new launcher will eliminate the app drawer icon, but it won’t actually eliminate the app drawer. Instead, users will be able to access the drawer by sliding up the zone at the bottom of the home screen. Inside that area which is also known as a ‘frosted’ zone, users will see five icons.

Another way to access the app drawer is to slide up on the small arrow located above this zone. Or, you could very well just tap the arrow because the result will be the same.

Now, when it comes to shutting the app drawer, you should scroll down from any point on the screen with the exception of the navigation bar and the notification panel because those will open up other functions and we don’t want that.

The app drawer also features a new search bar on top but, besides that, everything is pretty much the same. Another new feature that comes with the launcher is replacing the Google Search app located on the Home Screen with a calendar widget, but there is also a G pull – tab opposite it. Apparently, the tab doesn’t do anything if you pull it, but it launches Google Search if you tap it. Lastly, the launcher comes with new navigation buttons.

This new launcher is most likely designed solely for the Nexus models that will run on Android Nougat, but it’s not the final version at this point. We’ll only see the final version when the Android 7.0 N is officially released. So it’s very possible that the app drawer changes and the Google Search app that was replaced by the calendar widget might not make it into the final build, especially since some people that have tried it have found it to be annoying. We’ll just have to wait for the final launcher and see what happens then.